Anyone who knows me probably noticed why this picture is a big deal. I never wear stuff with logos on it. Maybe a Superman T-shirt like 30 years ago. But always a plain front. If I wear buttoned up shirts, maybe a tiny logo on the shirt pocket. But I prefer stuff without logos or branding.
But I now own 2 shirts with Yale written on the front. Because I fell in love with this place. And the people here. Like, I have friends in town here now. I have favorite places to write. I have zero pictures of the inside of Sterling, and it’s my favorite place in the world, and all I need are the pictures in my mind’s eye.
I grew here in 2 weeks. Made new friends. And, well. I have a lot of material to organize. If I’d done this even ten years ago, I’d be a people-pleasing mess. Doing this now, post-healing. Post-CPTSD treatment. After 16 months of focus on my physical and mental health. After a return to service and service leadership. I’m living in the After already. And here, I focused on my art. I stretched. I flexed. And I wrote.
I wrote 10,000 new words of memoir.
I rewrote chapters of my novel.
Flash Fiction: The Mortar Between Two Bricks
Flash Memoir: Post Office Ekphrasis
Artist Statement: The Immortal Flower
Bio: Fred Chong Rutherford
Short Story: A Bright Orange Poppy
Flash Memoir: Coinky-Dink Ekphrasis
I understand what I’m doing. I’m tired right now.
And I’m grateful.